Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar did not play the 2007 T20 World Cup. Photo: BCCL

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • India won the 2007 T20 World Cup under MS Dhoni's captaincy
  • Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly skipped the ICC event
  • Both Sachin and Dravid only played one T20I in their career
A young Team India led by MS Dhoni created history in South Africa 16 years ago by becoming the inaugural T20 World Cup champions. Given India's below-par performance in the ODI World Cup earlier that year, the fans didn't have high expectations from the Men in Blue. The Dhoni-led team pulled off a heist and did the unthinkable by lifting the trophy.
The win ushered in a new era in Indian cricket, and Dhoni became Team India's all-format captain by the end of 2008. The fact that India were without senior players Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly made the World Cup win extra special.
In 2020, Lalchand Rajput revealed the reason behind the seniors missing the ICC event. Lalchand Rajput, who was the manager of Team India in the ICC event, revealed why the seniors opted out of the 2007 T20 World Cup.

“Yes, it is true (Dravid persuading Tendulkar and Ganguly not to play the 2007 T20 World Cup). Rahul Dravid was the captain in England and some players came directly from England to Johannesburg (for the T20 World Cup). They said let’s give an opportunity to the youngsters,” Rajput told Sportskeeda.

“But after winning the World Cup, they must have repented it because Sachin always kept on telling me that I am playing for so many years and I have still not won the World Cup."

Sachin and Dravid only played one T20I, while Sourav Ganguly never played the format in international cricket. Interestingly, India had made their T20I debut under Virender Sehwag, in 2006, but he wasn't in the leadership group at the ICC event.

Yuvraj Singh, who was expecting to be named the captain, was Dhoni's deputy in the tournament. India defeated Pakistan in a nail-biting final to lift the trophy. They had defeated mighty Australia in the semi-final.


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